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History of Laos

The kingdom of Lan Xang is the basis for Laos's national historic and cultural identity.. 5 eras, 1354 to today.

Lan Xang, 1354–1707 Draft, not yet reviewed

Lan Xang was a Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Its capital was Luang Prabang until 1560 and Vientiane thereafter. Lan Xang was invaded by Burma in the sixteenth century and partitioned in 1707 into the kingdoms of Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak.

Seat of power: Luang Prabang

Rulers

Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, 1707–1893 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Luang Phrabang was formed in 1707 as a result of the split of the Kingdom of Lan Xang. Over the years the monarchy weakened even more, and was forced to become a vassal various times to the Burmese and the Siamese monarchies. A particularly destructive attack during the Haw wars by the Chinese Black Flag Army in 1887 saw King Oun Kham request French protection. The French Protectorate of Laos was officially established, with the administrative capital moved from Luang Prabang to Vientiane.

Seat of power: Luang Prabang

Rulers

French Protectorate of Laos, 1893–1953 Draft, not yet reviewed

The French protectorate of Laos was a French protectorate in Southeast Asia of what is today Laos between 1893 and 1953, which constituted part of French Indochina. The protectorate of Luang Prabang was nominally under the rule of its King, but actual power lay with a local French Governor-General, who in turn reported to the Governor-General of French Indochina. During World War II, the protectorate briefly proclaimed independence under Japanese occupation in 1945. It formally became an associated state in 1949 and achieved full independence after the Franco-Lao Treaty in 1953, during the final stages of the First Indochina War.

Seat of power: Vientiane

Rulers

Kingdom of Laos, 1953–1975 Draft, not yet reviewed

The country was governed as a constitutional monarchy beginning with its independence on 22 October 1953. In the years that followed, three groups, led by the so-called Three Princes, contended for power: the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma, the right-wing party under Prince Boun Oum of Champassak, and the left-wing, North Vietnamese-backed Pathet Lao under Prince Souphanouvong and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane. It survived until 2 December 1975, when its last king, Sisavang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao during the civil war in Laos, who abolished the monarchy in favour of a Marxist–Leninist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Seat of power: Vientiane

Rulers

Laos, 1975 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a country in Mainland Southeast Asia, and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. A civil war from 1959 to 1975 saw the communist Pathet Lao, supported by China, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, oppose the Royal Lao Armed Forces, backed by the United States. The civil war ended with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975. Laos has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the town of Luang Prabang, the temple complex of Vat Phou, and the Plain of Jars.

Seat of power: Vientiane

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.